What’s Ahead

Then-Secretary of State John Kerry speaks at a 2016 climate change summit in Beijing, China. (Image credit – State Department)

White House Hosting Climate Leadership Summit

On Thursday, which is Earth Day, the White House is convening a two-day virtual climate leadership summit with world leaders in an effort to “galvanize efforts by the major economies to tackle the climate crisis.” The Biden administration is holding the event to lay groundwork for the United Nations Climate Change Conference, known as COP26, this November in Glasgow, and to reassert U.S. leadership on climate. Over the weekend, Presidential Climate Envoy John Kerry spent three days with his Chinese counterpart securing a bilateral commitment to address climate change, including a mutual pledge to phasedown the use of hydrofluorocarbons, a powerful greenhouse gas commonly used in refrigerants. At or before the event, Biden is expected to announce plans for the U.S. to further cut emissions by 2030 to meet the Paris Agreement goal to constrain global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. He is also preparing to issue an executive order directing a government-wide strategy to address the financial risks posed by climate change. In addition, Biden is urging other world leaders to “use the summit as an opportunity to outline how their countries also will contribute to stronger climate ambition.” Meanwhile, House Republicans are holding a separate event this week to present alternative ideas for addressing climate change.

Appropriators Examining Biden Infrastructure Plan

The heads of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Departments of Commerce, Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development are appearing before Senate appropriators on Tuesday to discuss President Biden’s American Jobs Plan, which proposes about $2 trillion in spending to modernize infrastructure, bolster manufacturing, and expand social services. One focal point of the hearing will be the billions of dollars the plan seeks for programs aimed at mitigating carbon emissions and improving climate resiliency. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo may also be asked about the plan’s call for Congress to allocate $50 billion for the semiconductor R&D and manufacturing programs authorized in the CHIPS for America Act. Last week, Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Mark Warner (D-VA) led a bipartisan group of 72 lawmakers in encouraging Biden to support the provision of ample funding for those programs through a separate legislative effort aimed at reinforcing U.S. national competitiveness. In promoting the American Jobs Plan, Raimondo has highlighted its semiconductor proposals and, following last week’s meeting between President Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, she emphasized that the two countries aim to collaborate on semiconductors and other technologies regarded as strategically significant.

Science Committee to Review ‘Climate Service’ Concept

On Wednesday, the House Science Committee is holding a hearing to examine the case for creating a “federal climate service.” During the Obama administration, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration proposed to establish such a service, analogous to the agency’s National Weather Service, to unify its climate data and information products. Among the hearing witnesses will be climate scientist Richard Moss, who is a proponent of establishing a “sustained” National Climate Assessment process, a mechanism the Obama administration implemented to engage stakeholders more continuously with climate scientists but that was disbanded by the Trump administration. Last week, the House appropriations subcommittee for NOAA held its own hearing on the agency’s role in climate services. Asked specifically about the idea of establishing a climate service, NOAA officials did not respond directly but attested to how climate cuts across agency mission areas and requires a “whole-of-NOAA approach” to prevent duplication of effort.

NASA Nominee Bill Nelson Faces Former Senate Colleagues

The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee is holding a hearing on Wednesday to review President Biden’s nomination of former Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) to be NASA administrator. Nelson, who was the committee’s lead Democrat from 2015 through 2018, is not expected to encounter strong opposition to confirmation. Nevertheless, he is apt to face tough questions stemming from his unsuccessful opposition to the nomination of NASA’s previous administrator, Jim Bridenstine, whom he criticized for lacking the qualifications of a “consummate space professional.” Nelson is also likely to be asked about NASA’s decision last week to only move ahead with SpaceX’s bid to develop and operate a crewed lunar lander for the agency. Unlike the two other bidders that were in contention, the company plans to undertake landings using a multipurpose reusable launch vehicle and spacecraft that it has also put forward as a system for delivering large science payloads to the lunar surface. The vehicle’s selection could boost its prospects as a low-cost competitor to NASA’s own Space Launch System, which Nelson championed as a senator. Next week, the Senate Commerce Committee is convening a hearing to consider the nomination of Eric Lander to be director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

Senators to Spotlight Defense Technology Transition Activities

The Senate Armed Services Committee is convening a hearing on Wednesday to discuss the Department of Defense’s technology R&D, maturation, and transition activities. The witnesses will be the chief of naval research, the deputy director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the commander of the Air Force Research Laboratory, and the commanding general of U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command. Since the Obama administration, Congress has worked to increase DOD’s ability to move cutting-edge technologies more rapidly into use, such as by elevating responsibility for the department’s research and engineering activities to the under secretary level. Through subsequent legislation, it has continued to modify DOD’s organization and policies with the aim of expediting technology transition.

NIH Updating Senate on Research Security Initiatives

The Senate Health Committee is holding a hearing on Thursday to review efforts by the National Institutes of Health to “prevent undue foreign influence” on the U.S. biomedical research system. The witnesses include NIH extramural research head Mike Lauer, who has overseen an expansive investigation of grantees suspected of maintaining undisclosed ties to foreign institutions. Since the probe was first announced in 2018, more than 50 scientists have resigned or been fired by their home institutions for various policy violations, such as failing to report substantial foreign employment arrangements, especially participation in talent recruitment programs sponsored by the Chinese government. The hearing may also touch on NIH’s steps to implement new disclosure requirements pursuant to a recent White House policy. The other witnesses for the hearing are officials from the Office of Inspector General and Office of National Security in NIH’s parent department and the acting director of the Government Accountability Office’s S&T analysis team, which recently assessed the disclosure policies of five agencies.

Policy Front and Center at National Academy of Sciences Meeting

The National Academy of Sciences’ annual meeting this weekend will include a strong science policy focus, with sessions on Congress, the new administration, and “rebuilding the federal science workforce.” The program also includes a symposium on the COVID-19 pandemic, which will feature panels on the virus, the response to the pandemic, and vaccination efforts. The symposium concludes with a discussion of the Academies’ Response and Resilient Recovery Strategic Science Initiative, which convenes officials from government, business, and academia to rapidly inform decision-making and identify concerns and opportunities related to recovering from the pandemic. Just after the meeting concludes, the Academy is convening a “Nobel Prize Summit” featuring discussions with Nobel Laureates across disciplines on challenges facing society.

In Case You Missed It

Jill Hruby speaking at a Nuclear Threat Initiative event in 2019. (Image credit – Nuclear Threat Initiative)

Former Sandia Director Jill Hruby Nominated to Lead NNSA

On April 14, President Biden announced he is nominating Jill Hruby to lead the National Nuclear Security Administration, a $20 billion agency that is responsible for maintaining the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile and preventing the proliferation of nuclear materials. NNSA oversees three of the Department of Energy’s 17 laboratories, including Sandia National Labs, which Hruby directed from 2015 until her retirement in 2017. She first joined the lab’s technical staff in 1983 and held a series of leadership positions in materials science, weapons components, micro-technologies, and nonproliferation. After leaving Sandia, Hruby was the inaugural Sam Nunn Distinguished Fellow at the Nuclear Threat Initiative, where she developed technical analyses to inform nuclear arms control negotiations. In a statement, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm welcomed Hruby’s nomination, saying, “Jill is one of DOE’s very best success stories — she rose through the ranks at Sandia National Labs to become the first woman to lead a national security lab, and now she’s the perfect person to head up our efforts to maintain a safe and reliable nuclear deterrent and protect our national security.”

Former Astronaut Pam Melroy Chosen As NASA Deputy

On April 16, President Biden announced he is nominating aerospace expert and former astronaut Pam Melroy to be deputy administrator of NASA. Melroy is retired from the U.S. Air Force, where she was a test pilot and flew combat missions during the first Persian Gulf War. Later, she flew three missions on the space shuttle, including one as shuttle commander in 2007. With Eileen Collins, she is one of only two women to have commanded a shuttle mission. Since leaving NASA in 2009, Melroy has served in executive positions with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the Federal Aviation Administration as well as in the aerospace industry. Melroy’s selection balances Biden’s nomination of politician Bill Nelson for NASA’s top job, which defied expectations he would pick a woman to lead the agency for the first time in its history.

Picks Made for Science-Related Jobs at Interior and State Departments

President Biden announced on April 14 that he is nominating Tanya Trujillo to be the Department of the Interior’s assistant secretary for water and science. A lawyer specializing in natural resources management issues, Trujillo has previously held leadership positions with the Colorado River Sustainability Campaign and the Colorado River Board of California and worked as counsel for the Interior Department and the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Since Biden’s inauguration, she has been serving in the appointed position of principal deputy assistant secretary for water and science and has already overseen the revocation of a Trump administration policy that required the department to privilege studies with publicly available data when making decisions.

On April 12, Biden announced he is nominating C.S. Eliot Kang to be assistant secretary for international security and nonproliferation at the State Department, a job he currently holds in an acting capacity. The assistant secretary position oversees the department’s efforts to negotiate international regimes for preventing the spread of nuclear weapons and materials and other weapons of mass destruction. Kang has been a career civil service official with the department since 2003. Previously, he held academic positions in international security at the University of Pennsylvania and Northern Illinois University and fellowships at the Council on Foreign Relations and the Brookings Institution.

White House Removes Head of National Climate Assessment

The Washington Post reported on April 18 that the White House has removed Betsy Weatherhead as director of the Fifth National Climate Assessment, reassigning her to a position at the U.S. Geological Survey. Weatherhead is an atmospheric scientist who worked in academia and later in the private sector advising on climate change risks before she was selected to lead the assessment last fall by Kelvin Droegemeier, then director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Weatherhead was regarded as an uncontroversial pick, but her appointment was followed by the assignment of two other appointees, David Legates and Ryan Maue, to positions that oversee the assessment. Droegemeier dismissed them from those positions in the closing days of the Trump administration after they posted a set of unauthorized documents that attacked aspects of mainstream climate science. The Post did not report specific reasons for Weatherhead’s reassignment but cited unnamed sources who suggested there was tension between her vision for the assessment and that of officials in agencies that perform climate research. The National Climate Assessment is published quadrennially and its next iteration is due for release in 2022.

Senate Begins Review of Endless Frontier Act Despite Delay

Last week, the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee held Congress’ first hearing dedicated to the Endless Frontier Act, a bipartisan proposal to vastly expand the National Science Foundation through a new technology directorate. The hearing occurred despite a delay in the bill’s reintroduction linked to concerns over its scope and the compressed schedule Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has been seeking for a floor vote. Committee Chair Maria Cantwell (D-WA) did not comment on the bill directly, but she expressed general support for increasing federal R&D spending. She noted, though, that NSF has yet to reach the budget levels recommended in the America COMPETES Acts of 2007 and 2010, which were modest compared to those the Endless Frontier Act proposes. Committee Ranking Member Roger Wicker (R-MS) and other Republican members indicated they would push to add provisions on research security and to broaden the geographical distribution of federal R&D funding. Kelvin Droegemeier, who was a member of NSF’s governing board for 12 years prior to leading the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy under the Trump administration, testified that NSF has been “woefully underfunded” for years and supported increasing the agency’s footprint in “use-inspired research,” but expressed reservations about the Endless Frontier Act’s complexity.

DOE Proponents Seek Major Revisions to Endless Frontier Act

Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chair Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Ranking Member John Barrasso (R-WY) criticized the Endless Frontier Act at a hearing last week for its focus on using the National Science Foundation to support work that overlaps extensively with the Department of Energy’s R&D portfolio. “I would argue that efforts to strengthen our R&D foundation and technology development ought to start with the Department of Energy and the national labs,” Manchin remarked, urging lawmakers to “stand strong” in support of DOE’s role “as this conversation around domestic R&D funding and global competitiveness grows.” To support their argument, Manchin and Barrasso solicited testimony from witnesses on matters such as the labs’ experience working with industry and applying special security protections to sensitive research. Former DOE Under Secretary for Science Paul Dabbar urged Congress to give the department “a leadership role in any final proposal passed.” Appearing beside him, Los Alamos National Lab Director Thom Mason did not comment directly on the legislation but attested to DOE’s expertise in each of the priority technology areas identified in the bill. In a letter responding to a committee inquiry, he and the other directors of DOE’s 17 national labs have recommended DOE be included in a “broader approach” that is focused on the “entire U.S. innovation ecosystem.”

Appropriators Hear Case for NSF Expansion

National Science Foundation Director Sethuraman Panchanathan testified before House and Senate appropriators last week on President Biden’s request to increase the agency’s budget 20% to $10 billion for fiscal year 2022. Panchanathan also offered details on the Biden administration’s vision for adding a technology-focused directorate to the agency, describing it as a “crosscutting” rather than standalone entity that would translate ideas from across NSF’s existing directorates into practical applications. The top House appropriator for NSF, Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-PA), welcomed the proposed budget increase and “plans to broaden the mission of NSF.” His counterpart in the Senate, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), was more circumspect in welcoming the idea of expanding NSF, remarking, “We should devote resources to successful existing programs whenever possible. Where there are proposals to create new programs, we need to ensure that the agency’s tasks are the right ones, and that there are no other agencies that are better positioned to carry out the goals or that are already serving in the role.” Meanwhile, the top Republican appropriators stated NSF should use budget increases to help broaden the geographic distribution of its grant awards and did not weigh in on the directorate proposal.

House Science Panel Takes Broad Look at Innovation Policy

Amid the debate over expanding the National Science Foundation, the House Science Committee held a hearing last week to solicit ideas for bolstering the U.S. innovation system more broadly. Former Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz argued a “decade of supercharged innovation” is needed to meet carbon emissions reduction targets and recommended federal agencies expand support for later-stage R&D activities. He also suggested that NSF could take a leading role in a cross-agency “platform technologies initiative” focused on enabling technologies such as artificial intelligence, but cautioned that “adding a major focus on technology development and commercialization to NSF’s mission would be a major risk to the nature and culture of the agency.” Former Lockheed Martin CEO Norman Augustine drew on a report he recently co-authored to argue that bolstering STEM education is necessary to mitigate the heavy reliance of U.S. research on immigrants. Frances Arnold, co-chair of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, emphasized the importance of supporting early-career researchers, and Carnegie Mellon University President Farnam Jahanian suggested doubling federal research spending and the number of grad students and postdocs in the U.S., with a focus on reducing inequality and “expanding the geography of U.S. innovation.”

Intelligence Officials Warn About China, Climate, and COVID-19

During hearings last week before the Senate and House Intelligence Committees, newly confirmed Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, FBI Director Christopher Wray, and other intelligence agency leaders told lawmakers they regard the Chinese government as presenting a growing threat to the U.S., including through technology theft, espionage, and harassment of Chinese individuals living in the U.S. Wray testified the FBI currently has over 2,000 open investigations that tie back to the Chinese government, opening a new investigation “every ten hours,” and Haines detailed her office’s Annual Threat Assessment, which highlights concerns about China as well as threats posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and environmental degradation. The assessment emphasizes links between climate change and risks to regional and global food and water security, which could exacerbate political instability and humanitarian crises. It also observes that the pandemic has presented new opportunities for the Russian and Chinese governments to exert influence, such as through “vaccine diplomacy.”

Leading House Democrats Identify Research Security Policy Priorities

The Democratic chairs of the House Science and Armed Services Committees sent a letter to President Biden this month urging his administration take a new tack on research security policy. Among their priorities, the chairs state they are “encouraged by the discussions about standing up an amnesty program for well-intentioned researchers to come into compliance [with disclosure policies] without fear of reprisal,” referring to a proposal that has been under consideration within the Department of Justice. They also call on Biden to “reaffirm” NSDD-189, a Reagan-era directive that states the outputs of fundamental research should be unrestricted “to the maximum extent possible.” More broadly, the chairs argue the government has not adequately communicated the rationale for research security initiatives, writing, “To date, the academic community has not been given a clear explanation of the risks to research integrity and security posed by undue foreign influence. Instead, there has been an overreliance on anecdotes. This lack of transparency has, understandably, led well-meaning individuals to question the intent behind an increased emphasis on security.” They also call on agencies to develop more uniform policies, asserting that to date a “lack of coordination in these efforts has added to the confusion and administrative burden.”

Helicopter Takes Flight on Mars

The Ingenuity helicopter hovering over the surface of Mars. (Image credit – NASA / JPL-Caltech)

Early in the morning on April 19, NASA reported that a short overnight flight test of its Mars Ingenuity helicopter was successful, achieving its target altitude of three meters. The flight marks the first time that a winged aircraft has taken off and landed on another planetary body. The Ingenuity team will now study data from the test and prepare for subsequent flights of increasing ambition over the coming weeks. Ingenuity is a technology demonstration and is not part of the scientific mission of the Perseverance rover, which landed on Mars carrying the helicopter earlier this year.

Events This Week

Monday, April 19

UN: Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space S&T Subcommittee meeting
(continues through April 30)

APS: April meeting
(continues Tuesday)

NSF: Cyberinfrastructure Advisory Committee meeting
(continues Tuesday)

ITIF: “Does the U.S. Need China to Fight Climate Change?”
10:00 - 11:00 am

Wilson Center: “The Ocean: Turning a Climate Change Problem Into a Solution”
10:00 - 11:00 am

National Academies: “Leveraging the Future R&D Landscape for the Intelligence Community,” workshop one
12:30 - 5:00 pm

National Academies: “Nuclear Proliferation and Arms Control Monitoring, Detection, and Verification: A National Security Priority,” interim report release
2:00 - 3:00 pm

National Academies: “Revisiting Immigration in the U.S.”

2:00 - 3:00 pm

AFL-CIO: “Accelerating the Energy Transition: Infrastructure, Jobs and Equity”
2:00 - 4:00 pm

National Academies: “Planetary Protection Committee: Mars Mission Bioburden Requirements,” meeting three
2:00 - 6:00 pm

Tuesday, April 20

University of Chicago: DeepTechU Conference
(continues through Thursday)

National Academies: “Workshop on Developing Evaluation Metrics for Sexual Harassment Prevention Efforts”
(continues Wednesday)

House: “Building Capacity, Building Community: Increasing Investments in Community Colleges”
10:00 am, Appropriations Committee

Senate: “COVID-19 Recovery: Supporting Workers and Modernizing the Workforce Through Quality Education, Training, and Employment Opportunities”
10:00 am, Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee (430 Dirksen Office Building)

House: Hearing on Interior Department’s budget request for fiscal year 2022
10:00 am, Appropriations Committee

House: “Generating Equity: Deploying a Just and Clean Energy Future”
10:30 am, Energy and Commerce Committee

Senate: “The American Jobs Plan: Infrastructure, Climate Change, and Investing in Our Nation’s Future”
10:30 am, Appropriations Committee (106 Dirksen Office Building)

NASA: Science Mission Directorate Community Town Hall meeting
11:00 am

Foreign Policy: “Science Diplomacy: Elevating the Role of Science in Addressing Global Challenges”
11:00 am

House: “Making the Case for Climate Action: Creating New Jobs and Catalyzing Economic Growth”
12:00 pm, Climate Crisis Committee

SIA/INSA: “Securing Microelectronics Supply Chains”
12:00 - 2:00 pm

C2ES: “Low Carbon Business: How Climate Ambition Leads to Job Creation, Economic Growth”
1:00 - 2:30 pm

House: “Restoration of the Transatlantic Dialogue: The Global Fight Against Climate Change”
2:00 pm, Foreign Affairs Committee

House: “Building Back Better: Reducing Pollution and Creating Jobs Through Offshore Wind”
2:30 pm, Natural Resources Committee

Atlantic Council: “Raising Ambitions: The Role of Nature-based Climate Solutions”
2:30 - 3:30 pm

Wednesday, April 21

National Academies: “Risk Analysis for Nuclear War and Nuclear Terrorism,” meeting three
(continues on Friday)

CSIS: “Just Transitions to a Global Clean Energy Future”
9:00 - 10:00 am

Senate: Hearing to consider the nomination of Bill Nelson to lead NASA
10:00 am, Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee (253 Russell Office Building)

Senate: “Improving Access and Inclusivity in the Patent System: Unleashing America’s Economic Engine”
10:00 am, Judiciary Committee (226 Dirksen Office Building)

Senate: Hearing to consider the Strategic Competition Act
10:00 am, Foreign Relations Committee (106 Dirksen Office Building)

House: Hearing on EPA’s budget request for fiscal year 2022
10:00 am, Appropriations Committee

Wilson Center: “Offshore Energy: Favorable Winds for Renewables?”
10:00 - 11:00 am

National Academies: “DOD Engagement with its Manufacturing USA Institutes Phase 2 Study,” meeting 26
10:00 - 11:00 am

House: “Working Toward Climate Equity: The Case for a Federal Climate Service”
11:00 am, Science Committee

National Academies: “Workshop on Indoor Particulate Matter Exposure Health, Metrics, and Assessment”
11:00 am - 3:00 pm

National Academies: “Planetary Science Decadal Survey: Panel on Small Solar System Bodies,” meeting ten
11:00 am - 5:00 pm

National Academies: “Planetary Science Decadal Survey: Panel on Venus,” meeting 15
11:00 am - 5:50 pm

Senate: “DOD Science and Technology, Technology Maturation, and Technology Transition Activities
2:30 pm, Armed Services Committee (222 Russell Office Building)

Thursday, April 22

White House: Earth Day Summit
(continues Friday)

Department of Commerce: Supply Chain Competitiveness Advisory Committee meeting
10:00 am - 3:30 pm

Senate: “Protecting U.S. Biomedical Research: Efforts to Prevent Undue Foreign Influence”
10:00 am, Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee (430 Dirksen Office Building)

House: “The Role of Fossil Fuel Subsidies in Preventing Action on the Climate Crisis”
10:00 am, Oversight and Reform Committee

Senate: “Carbon Utilization Technologies”
10:00 am, Energy and Natural Resources Committee (366 Dirksen Office Building)

Senate: “21st Century Communities: Capitalizing on Opportunities in the Clean Energy Economy”
10:00 am, Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee

National Academies: “DOD Engagement with its Manufacturing USA Institutes Phase 2 Study,” meeting 27
10:00 - 11:00 am

U.S. Chamber of Commerce: “CCUS and Carbon Removal Policy Trends”
10:00 - 11:30 am

CSforALL/Intel: “Increasing CS, Cybersecurity and STEM Access and Opportunity through the JROTC”
11:45 am

Wilson Center: “An Earth Day Dialogue with the Chair of the Arctic Council”
1:00 - 2:30 pm

George Mason University: “Measuring R&D Productivity, Perspectives on Trends and Policies”
12:00 - 1:00 pm

CSIS: “The Importance of Intellectual Property in Healthcare Innovation During COVID-19”
12:30 - 1:45 pm

Bipartisan Policy Center: “Entrepreneurship at the Endless Frontier: Catalyzing Competitiveness Through Innovation and Invention”
2:00 - 3:15 pm

DOE: Electricity Advisory Committee meeting
2:15 - 4:00 pm

NSPN/ESEP/ESA: Science policy happy hour
7:00 pm

Friday, April 23

National Academies: “Implementation Science and Non-Vaccine Public Health Measures During COVID-19”
7:00 - 8:00 am

CSIS: “Securing Critical Minerals Supply Chains”
9:00 - 10:00 am

CHORUS: “Making the Future of Open Research Work”
11:00 am - 1:30 pm

Saturday, April 24

National Academy of Sciences: 158th Annual Meeting
(continues Sunday)

Sunday, April 25

NSPN: Science policy Wikipedia edit-a-thon
3:00 - 6:00 pm

Monday, April 26

American Meteorological Society: 2021 Washington Forum
(continues through Thursday)

Nobel Prize Summit: “Our Planet, Our Future”
(continues through Wednesday)

Bloomberg: Green Summit
(continues Tuesday)

Wilson Center: “Energy Efficiency Buildings as a Pathway to Carbon Neutrality in the U.S. and China”
9:00 - 10:15 am

National Academies: “Earth Resources for the Energy Transition,” kickoff webinar
1:00 - 3:00 pm

Atlantic Council: “The Future of U.S. Export Controls”
2:00 pm

National Academies: “Leveraging the Future R&D Ecosystem for the Intelligence Community,” meeting ten
2:00 - 5:30 pm

Politics and Prose: “Why Trust Science? A Conversation with Naomi Oreskes”
6:00 pm

Opportunities

National Science Board Seeking Nominees

The nomination period is open for the 2022-2028 class of the National Science Board, which oversees the National Science Foundation and advises the federal government on science, engineering, and education policy. A “Dear Colleague” letter issued by NSB Chair Ellen Ochoa details the nomination process and lists particular areas for which the board is seeking expertise. Members of the board are appointed by the president and not subject to Senate confirmation.

NIST Advisory Committees Seeking Members

The National Institute of Standards and Technology is accepting nominations for members to serve on its Visiting Committee on Advanced Technology, which provides broad programmatic and budget advice to the agency. NIST is also accepting nominations for its more specialized advisory committees on earthquake hazards reduction, construction safety, information security, the Manufacturing Extension Partnership program, and the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. Nominations are accepted on a rolling basis.

Academies Hiring Space and Nuclear Studies Officials

The National Academies is accepting applications to fill two program officer positions in its Space Studies Board and Nuclear and Radiation Studies Board. The positions are responsible for coordinating policy studies and representing the boards to stakeholders, among other duties. Applicants with a doctorate in a related field are preferred.

For additional opportunities, please visit www.aip.org/fyi/opportunities. Know of an opportunity for scientists to engage in science policy? Email us at fyi@aip.org.

Know of an upcoming science policy event either inside or outside the Beltway? Email us at fyi@aip.org.